


forgiveness

by King_Kiashi



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Angst, F/F, Nightmares, amnesia continuity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 01:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6931702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_Kiashi/pseuds/King_Kiashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on Lynx's amnesia AU. Adult Carol has her memories back, and has nightmares of hurting Elfnein. Comforting late-night talks ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	forgiveness

**Author's Note:**

> felt inspired by 'trust' and wanted to do a thing but with Suffering. the amnesia AU thing is basically carol and elfnein not fusing and carol doesn't remember jack shit and her and elfnein become gfs eventually for those who don't know. this is like... in the future i guess, i'm just speculating where it could go pretty much ^^ enjoy

The dark walls of the castle feel entrapping in their ominous, towering presence as Carol looks upon the room in a dreamlike haze. A beaker lays shattered on the floor between her and Elfnein, who looks upon her with dread as her feet stomp over to her beyond her control.

“—do you think you’re _doing_ —incompetent—!“Carol’s lips move but she hears her voice as if she were hearing it from deep underwater in muffled snatches, her tone higher and harsher than she can really picture on herself.

“—really, really sorry, Carol—I was—slipped—“ the world lurches unexpectedly as Elfnein takes a frightened step back from her, the borders of her vision blurry as she closes in on her like a hungry shark approaching a defenseless seal.

“—don’t care—always excuses, _excuses_ —“ One of Carol’s arms suddenly snaps outward like a predator striking, grabbing Elfnein by the arm and yanking her roughly towards a broom closet that materializes from the wall. “—up _right now,_ or I’m going to—!”

“I’m sorry, I’m _sorry,_ please—“ Elfnein’s arm tremors under her iron grip but Carol pulls her hard regardless, sending her crashing into the closet door with a loud smack. Her eyebrows twist in an almost frenzied glare at her as she flinches back from her as soon as she’s free of her grip. Elfnein’s eyes are wide and her pale, sweaty hands shake as she fumbles with the doorknob, opening the door and pulling out the broom and dustpan with almost mechanical movements. Carol’s entire body is coiled as tight as wires as her lips curl back in a ferocious snarl, hands clenched at her sides so hard her knuckles are white.

The room blurs before her vision even further until the only clear thing she sees is Elfnein’s face sick with anxiety as she creeps a wide radius around her to sweep up the glass shards, and something within Carol beyond the vision twists hard at the sight, her stomach lurching alongside the room as the castle slowly crumbles apart before her—

Carol’s eyes fly open with a choked gasp, entire body jolting against the mattress like someone had just electrocuted her. For a few moments everything spins with a dizzy quality before her eyes focus on a dimly lit ceiling before her, heart nearly thumping out of her chest as she fights to control her breathing.

“Carol?” a voice says softly, grounding her with enough sense to turn her head towards the sound. Elfnein sits at the desk in their shared room, a large textbook open before her with a lamp off to the side, illuminating her enough for Carol to see the concern in her dark eyes. She’s taller, older, and more relaxed than the one she’d seen in her dream, a comfy robe wrapped snugly around her person, but she can’t shake the sight of her small form cowering before her from her mind.

“Elfnein…” she rasps, throat dry as she struggles to reign in the tremors wracking her body. “What… what are you still doing up?”

“Sorry, I was just doing some studying,” Elfnein responds quietly, shutting the book gently as she stands from her chair. “Are you okay? Another nightmare?”

“I—y-yeah,” she mumbles weakly, desperate for her touch while simultaneously feeling sick at the idea of being near her as Elfnein shrugs her robe off into the chair and leans over to shut the lamp off.

“I’m here,” Elfnein says, pulling the blankets back as she climbs into bed with her. She slides forward until she’s close enough to wrap her arms around her, pulling Carol into a tight embrace. Carol almost melts into her touch — almost — but when she places a hand on Elfnein’s arm to steady herself, her mind flashes back to the memory of that same hand snatching her shaking arm up like it was nothing more than helpless prey before her. Carol immediately stiffens, body as rigid as wood in her grip as she lets go of her arm as if her hand had been burned.

“What’s wrong?” Elfnein whispers worriedly into her hair, loosening her grip on her at Carol’s negative body language.

“I—“ Carol starts, but her voice chokes off when she suddenly finds herself at a loss for words. Vaguely she’s aware of herself shaking in her arms.

Elfnein waits silently for her to gather her bearings enough to speak, one hand finding its way to her hair to stroke it while the other rubs soothing circles into her tightly wound back.

“I—I really hurt you,” Carol finally murmurs tightly after a few minutes, stomach feeling alive with ants as guilt gnaws viciously on her mind, Elfnein’s touch failing to bring her as much peace of mind as she’d hoped.

“Oh,” Elfnein breathes as she reveals the subject of tonight’s despair. She swallows a little hard, her hands stilling their comforting motions momentarily — a moment in which Carol’s heart drops heavily into her stomach, her breath catching in her throat.

“I-I’m _so sorry,_ ” the words tumble from her lips before she can stop herself, her throat closing up as tears prick the corners of her vision, “Elfnein—“

Suddenly, Elfnein yanks her closer, crushing her lips against hers to silence her. Carol freezes at the abrupt action, but soon finds herself melting into her touch despite herself, body shuddering strongly with emotion as the tears slip down her cheeks unbidden.

Elfnein pulls back after a few moments, cupping her cheeks gently and wiping her tears away with her thumbs.

“Elfnein?” Carol says a little hoarsely, brain thoroughly scattered.

“Listen, Carol,” Elfnein starts quietly, thumbs rubbing her cheeks rhythmically, “You’re a different person now.”

“But—“

She takes a hand off one of her cheeks to press a shushing finger to Carol’s lips.

“You’re different. It’s in the past now. I’ve forgiven you, and you want to know what helped me do that? The fact you’re so, so much nicer now — you’ve really changed for the better. I’m really glad that you feel sorry about what you did, but you don’t have to beat yourself up over it anymore, okay?” She takes her finger off her lips and runs that hand over Carol’s hair.

Carol stares silently at her for a long moment, swallowing hard. Her tongue flops uselessly in her mouth as she struggles to find something to say.

“Okay?” Elfnein repeats softly, petting gently at her hair.

“O-Okay,” Carol whispers finally, squeezing her eyes shut as she fights another wave of emotion.

“I really love you, you know,” Elfnein says, lowering her arms to wrap them around Carol and bring her closer. This time, Carol returned her embrace, albeit a little slower, but her grip strengthens after a moment.  
“I love you too,” Carol breathes out in relief, holding onto her like a lifeline. She buries her face in Elfnein’s neck, snuggling into her comforting warmth as tightly as she always does. Their legs tangle together under the sheets as Elfnein starts rubbing at her back again to help her calm down.

“We’d better get to sleep,” Elfnein mumbles into her hair. “It’s already pretty late.”

“You were the one staying up late,” Carol points out, voice a little lighter than it had been earlier.

“I guess that’s true,” Elfnein laughs. The sound helps drain the tension out of Carol, and she relaxes fully into her arms.

“Nerd,” she sighs, hugging her closer. It doesn’t take either of them long to fall asleep, and Carol doesn’t have any more nightmares that night.


End file.
